Coeur d'Alene RAISES: Idaho state of disparity

I am a FORMER Idaho Department of Labor employee (state employee) working for the state six years. Reading the paper about raises for Kootenai County employees at 3 percent, and Coeur d’Alene City employees 2 percent, has me in an uproar.

Does anyone realize your state employees HAVE NOT HAD A RAISE OF ANY KIND IN MORE THAN FOUR YEARS!!!!!

People, these employees of yours (state employees) are providing you the valued people of Idaho, services you count on. As employees of the State, we are not less intelligent than county or city employees. We have not only been without raises for over four years, we have suffered additional financial burden by reduced benefits as well as paying larger and larger shares for our medical/dental benefits.

I must say your State Employees have kept operating costs at 2007 levels, which begs the question WHY do county and city entities need to raise taxes to ultimately provide pay raises during a time when your house value have dropped, yet here they come, taking more from each of us. It makes me laugh when they say, well we could have taken 3 percent increase but we only took 2 percent, like we should all bow down and kiss their feet.

I say if State employees have been able to go without raises all entities in the State should be able to do the same.

MIKE MALLORY

Athol